Prior to his departure as Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA),
Domingo F. Panganiban announced that the GRP’s subsidy on hybrid rice seeds would be
removed in the last quarter of 2007. The hybrid rice seed subsidy has reportedly cost the
GRP an estimated P3 billion ($60 million) in the past five years and was introduced to
encourage the use of superior rice seeds. The DA had attributed its use as the primary
reason the increasing rice harvests in recent years. The level of subsidy currently is at
roughly half (P1,200 per bag) the price per bag good for one hectare (P2,500).
As reported in RP6006, the high cost of hybrid rice seeds is a major reason for the relatively
slow adoption rate of farmer-cooperators under the DA’s hybrid rice program – the program
aimed at achieving rice self-sufficiency. Without the subsidy, adoption of the technology is
expected to be constrained further and prospects of self-sufficiency in rice significantly
dampened. Mr. Panganiban had earlier projected that rice self-sufficiency (95 percent) could
possibly be attained by 2009.